2012 Indianapolis 500


The 96th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, on Sunday May 27, 2012. It was the premier event of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar Series season. For the first time since 1996 all entries featured turbocharged engines, and all entries were brand new model-year chassis, as part of the ICONIC Project. This was the first time since 2003, and only the fourth time since 1985, that all cars were a new model-year chassis.
The track opened for practice on Saturday May 12. Time trials were held May 19–20. Ryan Briscoe of Penske Racing qualified for the pole position. The final practice, traditionally dubbed "Carb Day", was held Friday May 25.
Dario Franchitti, who previously won the race in 2007 and 2010, won the event, becoming a three-time Indy 500 champion.
On the final lap, second place Takuma Sato challenged Franchitti for the lead in turn one, but Franchitti maintained a low line, forcing Sato's left tires on or over the white line marking the edge of the course.
As the two cars were side by side, Sato spun and crashed into the outside wall. Sato finished in 17th, while Franchitti went on to take the victory.
Franchitti's teammate Scott Dixon finished second, sweeping a 1-2 finish for Chip Ganassi Racing. The race set an all-time record with 34 lead changes. Franchitti's win represented the third consecutive competition Indy victory for Honda since 2004 and also first overall competition race win for Honda since 2005 Toyota Indy 400.
Dario Franchitti won his first Indianapolis 500 with Brembo-equipped brakes. This was the last win of Dario Franchitti's 12 season career. In the penultimate race of the 2013 IndyCar Series in Houston, Franchitti would be involved in a multi-car accident that would prematurely end his career.

Event background

For the first time since 1947, the previous year's race winner had been killed in a racing crash in the time between races. Defending race winner Dan Wheldon was killed in a horrific crash during the 2011 season finale, the 2011 IZOD IndyCar World Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Several winners have missed the following year due to either retirements, injuries, or racing in a different series. The last time the defending champion did not participate in the race due to injury or death was 2004 race winner Buddy Rice, who suffered a concussion during practice, and sat out the 2005 race. The last time a defending Indianapolis 500 champion did not participate in the race under any circumstances was 2007 race winner Dario Franchitti, who was injured in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Talladega Superspeedway in April 2008 and had a full-time racing schedule in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series in 2008.
Jim Nabors, who has traditionally sung "Back Home Again in Indiana" during the pre-race ceremonies in most years since 1972, was not able to attend the race for health reasons. The Speedway sent a film crew to record a video of him performing the song at his home in Hawaii, and aired it on video boards on race morning.
Going into the month, there was growing concern about filling the field to the traditional 33 cars. This was due in part to the struggles of Lotus, and lease issues in the first year of the new engine package, namely involving Dragon Racing. However, on Bump Day, the field was filled to exactly 33 cars, with no cars bumped, a similar situation to 2003.

Rule changes

  • Due to safety concerns, IndyCar officials announced in the 2012 State of IndyCar address that restarts would revert to single-file for the two ovals whose distance is at least two miles or greater. This eliminated the double-file restarts used at Indy in 2011 only.
  • The overtake assist system was eliminated for the Indianapolis 500 and other oval races.
  • The race will start after four warm up laps, up from three warm up laps used from 1977 to 2011. During the first parade lap, the field is required to stay aligned in the traditional eleven rows of three. During the second and third laps, the cars are allowed to break single file in order to warm up their tires. During the final pace lap, the field must reassemble into the rows of three for the start.
  • At the start and on restarts, cars may pass as soon as the green flag/light is displayed. Previously, cars could not pass until crossing the start/finish line.
  • If there is a caution period during the final 20 laps, all lapped cars will be placed at the end of the line for the subsequent restart.

    Schedule

Other scheduled events included:
  • May 11 – Freedom 100 testing
  • May 12–13 – Second Annual Celebration of Automobiles / Emerging Technologies Day
  • May 24 – Freedom 100 practice and time trials
  • May 25 – Freedom 100 race, Carb Day concert featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd
  • May 26 – Legends Day featuring Roger Penske: Public Drivers Meeting, Autograph sessions

    Entry list

On April 18, 2012, the official entry list of thirty-four car/driver combinations was released. Former winners entered include Dario Franchitti, Hélio Castroneves and Scott Dixon. In an unusual move, Chip Ganassi Racing sponsor Target changed Franchitti's car number for the month. While Franchitti was legally entitled to using #1, the team decided instead to keep the team's #10 identity for the season, but to celebrate Target's fifty years in business, the car carried #50 for the race. The stylised #50 utilised the Target logo.
Former Formula One driver Jean Alesi was listed as an entry for Newman Haas Racing, but the car was later withdrawn. Lotus continued to find a team for Alesi, and struck a deal with Indy Lights team Fan Force United to run a car. Rubens Barrichello, winner of the 2002 U.S. Grand Prix at Indy was the first former winner of that event to attempt to qualify for the Indy 500.
Michel Jourdain Jr., who had last raced at Indy sixteen years earlier in 1996, was named to Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Jourdain would be the only driver in the field from the 1990s. With John Andretti not entered, not a single driver from the 1980s was in the field.

Testing and rookie orientation

With the introduction of the new chassis and engine package, testing was conducted at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the offseason. The first phase of testing involved Dan Wheldon, and testing was conducted on the USGP road course at Indianapolis on September 1, and on the oval in late September. Dario Franchitti and Tony Kanaan tested at Indianapolis in early November for Honda and Chevrolet. Test results were mixed at the Speedway, with drivers complaining of weight imbalance issues, and speeds were down from what was expected.

Open test — Wednesday, April 4

  • Weather:, partly cloudy
  • Practice summary: An open test was held for veteran drivers only. Multi-car teams were allowed only one car/driver combination for the test, rookies were not allowed, and Lotus did not participate. The cars were fitted with new rear wheel guards, designed to correct aerodynamic issues experienced during previous tests. Nine drivers took part in the test. Tony Kanaan, Marco Andretti, Hélio Castroneves, Ed Carpenter, and J. R. Hildebrand test for Chevrolet. Scott Dixon, Takuma Sato, Mike Conway, and Justin Wilson tested for Honda. The nine drivers completed 495 laps, with no incidents reported.

    Texas Motor Speedway Test — Monday, May 7

For the second year in a row, IndyCar held an official pre-Indy oval test. Since the Indy 500 will be the first oval race of the 2012 season, the league hosted a test for rookies to assimilate with ovals, and to test out an updated aero kit package for Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile 24-degree banked oval which has been a type of circuit that was questionable in light of the Las Vegas tragedy. The aero kit package at Texas was not used for Indianapolis or Fontana. Indianapolis and Fontana, home of the 2012 IZOD IndyCar World Championship, used the same superspeedway aero and rules package. The test also saw Rubens Barrichello take his first competitive laps on an oval on Monday May 7.

Rookie orientation program — Thursday, May 10

  • Weather:, partly cloudy
  • Practice summary: On the first day of track activity in the month of May, eight rookies took to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway track. Of these eight drivers, seven of them passed the mandatory Rookie Orientation Program with James Jakes leading the speed charts during the day with a top lap at 218.266 mph. Bryan Clauson, Josef Newgarden, Rubens Barrichello, Simon Pagenaud, Michel Jourdain Jr., and Wade Cunningham were all able to break 210 mph during the practice. Jean Alesi was the only driver not to pass the first two phases the program, running his best lap at 186.387 mph, however he was given permission to return the following day for more practice. On Friday May 11, Alesi completed the first two phases.

    Practice

Opening Day — Saturday, May 12

  • Weather:, partly cloudy
  • Practice summary: Rookie Josef Newgarden led the way, while J. R. Hildebrand led the tow chart. Townsend Bell was not at the track, as he was competing in an American Le Mans race at Laguna Seca. Among the other drivers not making laps were Katherine Legge and Sébastien Bourdais, who were currently without an engine deal. The first cars on the track were the three Penske Racing cars, who completed a parade lap with all three cars alongside. Marco Andretti did not spend any time in his own car, but shook down the 17 and 25 cars for a couple laps.

    Open practice — Sunday, May 13

  • Weather:, partly cloudy
  • Practice summary: A total of 33 cars completed 1,138 practice laps without incident. Wade Cunningham completed the third phase of the rookie test, early in the day's practice session. Six drivers completed laps over 220 mph.

    Open practice — Monday, May 14

  • Weather:, partly cloudy
  • Practice summary: After days of struggles, Jean Alesi finally completed the third phase of rookie orientation. This was accomplished with the approved use of the qualifying boost, which gave them an extra 5–6 mph. Graham Rahal's car suffered engine woes, the first of the month at Indianapolis. A total of 1,199 laps were completed without incident.